There’s no arguing that Brent’s Drugs is one of Jackson’s most visibly iconic spots. Thanks to movies like “The Help” and magazines such as Vogue and Southern Living, audiences all over the country have become acquainted with the diner’s signature turquoise décor and retro neon signs. In fact, it’s difficult to find an article or feature written about Brent’s Drugs that doesn’t include the word “nostalgia” somewhere in the headline.That’s all well and good—Jackson certainly welcomes tourism, and Brent’s style makes it an excellent fit for the historic Fondren Business District. It’s a fun and easy place to take out-of-town visitors. But underneath all the chrome and color, Brent’s Drugs is a neighborhood diner. And that brings with it a whole different set of expectations. The coffee should be good, but not fancy. Breakfast should be served all day. Everything should come with a biscuit on the side and the option to add cheese.

Jackson, MS has a rich and storied history, as any resident will tell you. Drive through districts such as Fondren, Belhaven, Washington Addition, and Farish street will quickly illustrate this point: many restaurants, bars, and shops from the 1950’s and earlier are still in business today, often with the same signage and decoration. They are relics of a bygone era, scattered throughout the city.

​Deep South Pops is not one of these relics. They opened their doors on State Street in 2015, only two years ago. Despite that, though, they manage to capture that time-capsule feel of the city.

“That’s the thing about popsicles,” owner Jake Franklin says. “It is definitely a nostalgic experience for people of all ages. We have customers age 0 to 100.”

To the outside observer, it certainly seems that Belhaven’s iconic Keifer’s Restaurant has undergone a lot of change in the last few years. They’ve moved to a new location—one that was custom-built as a restaurant rather than a renovated residential house—and they’re under new ownership for the first time in their 37-year history.

But, in actuality, almost nothing has changed about the Keifer’s experience. Customers old and new still enjoy the same menu items prepared and served by the same dedicated staff and surrounded by the same artwork and décor.​If this seems impossible, that’s because it likely would be for any other restaurant. Maintaining consistent quality and experience for over 30 years, through massive relocations and change in ownership, is no small feat. Keifer’s has accomplished it through a unique combination of organization and culture, in a way that feels quintessentially “Jackson.”

If you’re looking for a distinctly Mississippi take on the diner from the Broadway musical “Grease,” CS’s might just fit the bill.

Ask anyone who attended Millsaps College in the last 100 years and they’ll likely have at least one story about eating—or, more often, drinking—at this nondescript brick building, though they may remember it as The College Grill, Adelle Grill, Hollingsworth’s Fine Foods, Everybody’s, or even The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house.

Of course, the experience has changed a lot throughout the decades. The music has gone from jukebox to 90’s grunge to “outlaw” country tunes. Booths have changed places, disappeared entirely, and come back with new upholstery. Different generations have enjoyed milkshakes, cokes, and beers.​But regardless of décor, ambiance, or beverage, the dining experience in this building has almost always involved a burger.

Manship Wood Fired Kitchen has been so fully absorbed into Jackson’s food community that it is easy to forget just how young they really are; November marks just 4 years since they first opened their doors. But entrepreneur and Managing Partner Steven O’Neill had a very distinct vision. He guided the restaurant’s development from day one and shaped it into such a cohesive whole that it feels as though it’s been here forever.​It started with the bar. “I wanted to have the best bar in the south,” O’Neill says. With a background in bartending and spirits, O’Neill is a “Level 1” Sommelier and a self-described “huge whisky nut.” He designed the bar himself, not only selecting every bottle and brand but also creating the layout, structure, lighting, and storage. The attention to detail is astonishing. Despite having over 1,000 bottles, there is nothing the least bit overwhelming, heavy, or cluttered about the bar’s aesthetic.

When you decide on dinner at BRAVO!, it’s best to plan on spending the whole evening there. Not because the service is slow—far from it—but because the atmosphere is so welcoming and comfortable that the hours pass unnoticed. This is no accident: service manager Tanya Burns works hard to keep the complicated dance of restaurant service moving smoothly.

“For me, service ranks right up there with food,” Burns says. While she’s speaking, her eyes are constantly moving; scanning the dining room to spot any hiccups, glancing into the kitchen to check on progress, taking note every time a new customer walks in the door.

One of the first things you’ll see as you walk into Mom’s Dream Kitchen (formerly Collins’ Dream Kitchen) is a large portrait of a gently smiling woman hung just to the right of the door. This is the founder’s mother, and the portrait now hangs as a reminder of the woman who used to sit just there, to the right of the door, greeting customers with a smile.

“[My mother] would dress up and come down here every Friday,” Ms. Sylvester Collins, founder of the restaurant, tells me. “She said ‘I got so many clothes I never wear out,’ so she’d dress up every Friday, sit right there at that door, and meet everybody that come in.”​She passed away a few years back at the age of 93, but her presence still remains in the strong sense of family and legacy that is the very foundation of Mom’s Dream Kitchen.

Jackson, Mississippi is deservedly famous for its wide variety of local, family-owned restaurants. The city’s culinary legacy, a unique blend of cultural influences, is a large reason Jackson earned the nickname “city with soul.”​Local hot spots from Washington Addition and Farish Street to Midtown and Fondren provide more than enough choice for every palate. Simply put, if one is in search of authentic southern fare in Jackson, Miss., it isn’t hard to find.

That said, however, County Line road and I-55 is certainly not the place most people would think to look. The area is packed full of strip center shops and national chain restaurants, which—along with the shopping mall—draw enough of a daily crowd to make the traffic nearly unbearable by Jackson standards.

So it may come as a surprise to learn that one of the city’s best hidden gems lies nestled amongst the trees just off of the interstate on the west side of this busy intersection as you approach Tougaloo College.

​If you’re looking for the coolest location for a smokehouse restaurant, Chimneyville Smokehouse probably has it. The building, across from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, used to be the old train depot, and it still retains a lot of its rustic charm and ambiance. Chimneyville’s checkered tablecloths, framed vinyl records, and old Jackson memorabilia fit the space so well one could easily assume the restaurant had always been in this location.

​Surprisingly, that’s not the case. Chimneyville actually got its start over 20 years ago as a humble 12×40 trailer with a single serving window and a few outdoor folding tables. While they’ve seamlessly adapted to their upgraded location, they’ve kept in touch with their roots: their mobile smoker and grill are popular accessories for parties and gatherings all over the Jackson area.

Not much can start a fight quicker than the eternal debate over barbecue. Loyalists from Texas, Memphis, and the Carolinas have for decades stood prepared to give it all in defense of their region’s specific blend of meat, seasoning, cooking method, and sauce.​Jackson, for many, symbolizes a sort of crossroads in this ongoing barbecue war. Situated on middle ground as much by history and culture as by physical location, Jackson has developed its own style of barbecue that seems to blend defining characteristics of each of the others while at the same time retaining a very unique style all its own.